Shuangliu National Forest Recreation Area is a quiet forested park in the southern County of Pingtung. In the past, Paiwan indigenous hunted and fished here, calling the settlement Tjisaulem — in fact, there is still a village of that name near the park’s entrance.

There are a total of four trails to explore: the Waterfall Trail, Mount Maozi Trail, and the two covered here. If you’ve only got time for one, I suggest checking out the Waterfall Trail, but if you’ve got a little extra time for exploring, this loop will introduce you to some of the forested scenery that Shuangliu has to offer.

Distance: 5.8 kilometres if walked as shown here, but there’s an option of doing a longer walk (9 kilometres) if you include a visit to the waterfall.

Time: 2-4 hours – The loop featured here should take a little over two hours, but the waterfall extension would make it more like four hours.

Total ascent: About 440 metres.

Difficulty (regular Taiwan hiker): 3/10 – This is an easy walk for anyone familiar with hiking in Taiwan, but the steps might make it tiring.

Difficulty (new Taiwan hiker): 4/10 – For those new to Taiwan hiking trails, Thai should be an easy-moderate walk.

Risks and dangers: Some narrow sections of path on the Mountainside Trail (mostly these are roped), there are monkeys, but they’re generally shy.

Food and water: I took 0.5L and drank it all. There are water dispensers at the trailhead and about halfway along this route. For food, you’ll need to get supplies from the FamilyMart near the park entrance before entering.

Shade: Generally quite shady.

Mobile network: Clear throughout.

Enjoyment: This walk is full of water and wildlife, and if you include a visit to Shuangliu Waterfall, it’s even better.

Bathroom facilities: There are toilets at the trailhead and near the outdoor classroom area.

Route type: Loop

Permit: No permits are needed, but you need to buy tickets to enter the park.

Jump to the bottom of this post for a trail map and GPX file.

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Our walk began at the main entrance to Shuangliou National Forest Recreation Area. To the right of this spot, there is a trail leading up to Mount Maozi, while to the left, there’s a bridge across the river that will take you to the visitor centre (and the one of the Banyan Tree Trail). We headed straight, walking alongside the river for a way.

Before long, some steps on the right lead up to the start of the Mountainside Trail. There’s a brief climb, after which, the trail levels off and becomes a pleasant green tunnel.

The highlight of the Mountainside Trail is this suspension bridge slung across a tributary of Shuangliu Creek.

At the far end of the bridge, you can choose whether to turn right and rejoin the waterfall trail or continue straight over on the Mountainside Trail. Both are pleasant, but since I’d previously walked the waterfall trail, I opted to stick on the Mountainside Trail.

There were far fewer people up this end of the trail. In fact, it would be more accurate to say there were no other people.

After climbing steeply for a short distance, the path abruptly starts heading down again. At the bottom of the steepest descent, a flight of steps leads down to join the waterfall trail close to the outdoor classroom area. I ignored it and carried on along the Mountainside Trail.

This next little stretch of the path was absolutely littered with bleached snail shells. A

A few stone picnic tables have been placed among the trees up here, each separated from the next and sitting in its own clearing. Then before long, steps lead down to meet the Waterfall Trail.

If you want to add a visit the waterfall into this loop, you’ll need to turn right here, but if you’ve already been there and done that, then turning left.

A bizarre bleached tree on the far bank and some exquisite leafy details close up. I’m not sure whether the tree was suffering from sickness or not, but it certainly looked striking.

In a couple of places, the park authorities have made a feature of the area’s overabundance of water. Here, close to the outdoor classroom, a small stream has been diverted to cascade over a retaining wall and land in a channel. You’ll also find a toilet block with water dispensers nearby.

A little further on, I reached the first of the park’s two stepping stone river crossings. Even on a mild November day, it was just warm enough for a few hardy kids to have a bit of a paddle. (The area around the next crossing is probably better for that, it’s less slippery.)

Before you reach the second set of stepping stones, a flight of steps to the right marks the start of the Banyan Tree Trail.

This trail is much gloomier than the others in the park. A dense canopy blocks out much of the daylight and the forest floor is carpeted with thick course grass that had an almost blueish tint. I saw a bamboo partridge and two muntjacs, and heard something I’d never heard before. I couldn’t even tell if the mystery sound was a bird or a mammal.

As the trail nears its highest point, there’s a spot where you can look out over the mountains on the far side of the river valley. I imagine that you’d be able to see Mount Maozi in clear weather, but it had been decapitated by clouds.

Around the 1-kilometre mark, I walked through a tangle of hanging banyan roots, and beyond that, the descent began in earnest. On the way down, I passed a huge group of Formosan maquaces. They were not impressed by my presence and let out a large repertoire of irritated barks and whistles.

The steps descend steeply the whole way and emerge beside the half-shell of an old Paiwan dwelling. Signage beside the walls points out that this style of building is a slight change from the usual — Paiwan dwellings were built using thin wedges of slate.

The trail rejoins the waterway beside Shuangliu’s Visitor Information Centre (aside from the toilets and a water dispenser, there’s very little of note here), and from there, you just need to walk across the bridge to arrive back at the trailhead. As you go, look for the depictions of various animals’ footprints in the bridge’s metalwork.

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How to get to Shuangliu National Forest Recreation Area

Google Maps address: Shuangliu National Forest Recreation Area is located just off of National Freeway No. 9 in Pingtung’s Shizi Township. You can park up in the park’s carpark, just beyond the ticket booth.

Tickets: Entrance tickets can be bought from the ticket office at the entrance to the park. The staff will flag you down if you’re driving. Standard adult tickets cost $100 (as of 2022), with discounted tickets for children, seniors and students. It costs an extra $50-$100 to drive your vehicle into the park (depending on what type of vehicle it is).

GPS location: N22 13.045 E120 47.810

Public transport: Take the 1778 service from Fangliao Station and alight at Shuangliu. The Chinese directions on the park’s website suggest that as long as you let them know in advance, you can ask the bus driver to drop you off a little closer, by the FamilyMart at the entrance to the park’s road.

Further reading: You can read a little about the park here. (At least you can until the next time the government decides it needs to spend the budget on something, and so remakes the website again.)

Nearby trails:

• Shuangliu Waterfall Trail

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Shuangliu National Forest Recreation Area Trail Map

GPX file available here on Outdoor Active. (Account needed, but the free one works just fine.)

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